On 8 May 1967, Republic Act 4867 authored by then Congressman Lorenzo S. Sarmiento, Sr., was passed into law. By virtue of this bill, the original mother Province of Davao del Norte was divided into three (3) provinces namely Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental. Subsequently on 17 June 1972, by virtue of R.A 6430 the name Davao del Norte was changed to Davao. Henceforth, the 3 provinces celebrate the respective founding anniversaries every 1st of July.

Later on 30 January 1998, President Fidel V. Ramos signed Republic Act No. 8470 creating the Province of Compostela Valley, another province carved out of Davao del Norte. In the same development, two (2) component cities were created by virtues of RA 8471 creating the Island Gaden City of Samal and RA 8472 converting the Municipality of Tagum into a City. On the other hand, the enactment of RA 8473 created the Municipality of Braulio E. Dujali from the municipalities of Carmen and Panabo of Davao del Norte.

Davao del Norte is strategically located at the southeastern part of Region XI, bounded on the north by Agusan del Sur, Comval Province in the east, Bukidnon in the northwest, Davao City in the west, and Davao gulf in the south.

CAPITAL: TAGUM CITY

LAND AREA: 364,056 hectares

POPULATION: 847,440

POLITICAL SUBDIVISION: 2 Political Districts

3 Component Cities

7 Municipalities

223 Barangays

TRANSPORTATION ACCESIBILITY: Land,sea and air

COMMUNICATION: The province is serviced by a local telephone system, cell sites for mobile telecommunications, radio and TV stations.

INDUSTRIES: Agriculture

TRIBE: Mandaya, Manguangan, Dibabawon, Ata-Manobo, K'lagan, Sama

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: Monfort Bat Cave and Beach Resorts in Samal, Panas Water Falls of New Corella, Okbot Cave of Kapalong, Banana Plantations, Davao Penal Colony, Cultural Village in Talaingod

ACCOMMODATION: v Classification v No. of available rooms

Economy 30

Inns 35

RESORTS Class AAA (1) 80

Class AA (2) 39

Class A (7) 47

ECO-ADVENTURE: Diving, Snorkeling, Aqua Sports, Spelunking, Trekking, Mountain Climbing, Mountain Biking, Motocross

Festivals / Fiestas :

Tagum City - Musikahan February

Panabo City - Binulig Festival September

IGCS - Caracoles April

Carmen - Kadangkadang June

Sto Tomas - Folk Dance Festival August

BE. Dujali - Rice Festival October

Asuncion - Sinaug Festival April

Kapalong - Musa Festival August

Talaingod - Kalibulungan July

San Isidro - Cacabyawan June

Important Telephone Numbers:

Office of the Governor :(084) 4002678

Provincial Administrator : (084) 2172137

Provincial Tourism Office : (084) 400-3786

Provincial Information Office : (084) 2173340

Provincial Planning Office :dvonppdo@chromnet.net

The making of it into a municipality was conceptualized upon persistence of some local officials, and this long cherished dream finally came into reality when then Congressman and now Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario filed in the House of Congress, House Bill No. 9272 on April 23, 1997. The same was signed into law on January 30, 1998 and by virtue of RA 8473, otherwise known as "AN ACT CREATING THE MUNICIPALITY OF BRAULIO E. DUJALI IN THE PROVINCE OF DAVAO AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES" the new municipality officially began its registered voters in a plebiscite held on March 7, 1998 and on March 30, 1998, took place perhaps the first if not the only in the country where new set of officials took their oath of office before a President of the Republic. It was President Fidel V. Ramos who personally administered the oath taking ceremony.

People/Culture/Tourism:

The native populace in the municipality are the Ilonggos, Ilocanos, Boholanos, Leyteños, Dabaweños and Aklanons. Ilonggo is the most commonly used dialect and majority of the people are Roman Catholic. The people are called Dujaliños. The booming rural aqua-farming of fishponds for Tilapia, Haluan and Hito merits the title given to Braulio E. Dujali as destination for Aqua-Tourism.

How to get there:

The Municipality of Braulio E. Dujali is very accessible. For only 27 kilometers from Tagum City and 57 kilometers from Davao City, it can be reached by any land transportation via Barangay Tuganay, Carmen, Davao del Norte and only 15 kilometers from Tagum City via Barangay Magupising of Braulio E. Dujali.

It remains a rice-producing municipality in Davao del Norte despite massive conversion of sizeable areas into banana plantation. Farmers' opted to grow rice using the organic method thereby sustaining the municipality's claims as the province's producer of chemical free rice.

Different stakeholders of rice production, gathered in the last quarter of 2006 to formally and officially guide nature farming and organic rice production through the initiative of the Local Chief Executive with the technical support of the Municipal Agriculture's Office (MAGRO) in cooperation with the Davao Provinces Rural Development Institute, Inc. (DPRDI), Agri-Aqua Development Center (AADC), Technical and Assistance for the Development of Rural and Urban Peoples (TACDRUP). This system props up the establishment of Braulio E. Dujali Rice Council as an internal guarantee system of the municipality.

Braulio E. Dujali adopted a product name B.E. Dujali Rice.

The product is carefully produced and milled using the natural inputs and methods. Organic concoctions formulated from indigenous materials are used in lieu of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Finally, comes B.E. Dujali Rice-Organically Grown as its official product name. Thus, the assurance of safe, delicious and healthy food for you and your loved ones.

New Corella has a simple history sixty nine (74) years ago. In the year 1935, five years before the outbreak of World War II, a group of Boholano's headed by Catalino Chatto Sayon, a young agriculture graduate and fresh from his adventures in the United States, arrived in a small barrio of Bugwak (now Barangay New Bohol), part of the former District of Saug, now the municipality of Asuncion, to seek for land that they hope to till and cultivate as their own.

Not satisfied of the terrain and location of the land around Bugwak that are hilly, these Boholanos moved on a little north. Utilizing the native Mangguwangans and Mandayas as their guide, they arrived at Mopia plains were they were amazed and attracted of the potentialities and rich resources for irrigation. To develop the place, the Boholanos took the opportunity of occupying and tilling their respective claimed land areas.

The plain became the haven of the second, third and fourth waves of Boholanos settlers and after a year, the barrio of New Corella was born, a name given after their hometown of Corella, Bohol. The barrio being fully established, became the fourth barrio created within the eastern part of the vast Saug district territory.

As a municipality, New Corella was formerly a barangay of her mother town Asuncion. It was once created through Presidential Proclamation in 1964 and was fully established in 1965 after the first set of municipal officials sworn in to Presidential Diosdado Macapagal in Manila.

Appointed as first municipal mayor was Engr. Prospero Amatong who held office only for eleven months because after the elections in 1965 the Supreme Court declared its creation as illegal and unconstitutional. In 1966 Congressman Lorenzo Sarmiento filed House Bill No. 394 creating New Corella into a municipality. The bill was enacted and approved into law through Republic Act No. 4747. This marked the rebirth of New Corella as a full-fledged municipality.

The first elected mayor of the town was Hon. Arcadio E. Omega. He served the municipality from 1968 to 1971. He was re-elected and served from 1972-1980. He was followed by Hon. Miguel C. Darunday who was elected in January 1980. He served from 1980-1986. He was followed by Hon. Daniel B. Turan. He served from 1986-1998. Then, followed by Hon. Jose Recarido P. Federsio. He serve from 1998-2007. At present, Hon. Nestor L. Alcoran is the incumbent mayor.

Tagum City, the capital of the province of Davao del Norte was officially created into a component city on March 7, 1998. Situated 55 kilometers north of Davao City it is one of the fastest growing cities in Region XI. It has a total land area og 19,580 hectares. In a study conducted by the Asian Institute of Management Tagum was ranked among the 20 most viable component cities to do business in the country.

The City of Tagum with its available supply of raw materials, competitive human resources, continuing infrastructure development and efficient local governance offers vast investment opportunities. The city being identified as the sub-regional center of the Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP) Master Plan welcomes domestic and export trading and manufacturing activities outlined in its priority areas of investment.

Incumbent City Mayor Rey T. Uy, an agriculturist by profession, farmer and a successful businessman, was the first elected city mayor of Tagum. Innovative in his approach to local governance and a firm believer that "what is" is not always what it ought to be, Mayor Uy introduced reforms and vigorously pursued their implementation. It turned out that Tagumeños were not yet ready for the reforms he wants implemented; they repudiated him in his first reelection bid.

Back in City Hall after regaining the mayoralty seat, he lost no time pursuing the reforms he initiated. He believes in the power of knowledge and education and he manifests this belief in his crusades to raise the standard of education especially in public schools where he sees most of the underprivileged. Being a recipient of quality private education, he envisions to share his experiences and the potentials of rising above, the adversities of life with those who can't afford such by the standard of education in public schools through better facilities an improved instruction.

This time the reforms he initiated must have gained acceptance and support by the people as evidenced by Tagum getting a recognition from the Department of Finance for achieving a collection efficiency of 101% in real property tax, a tax that most LGUs find difficulty collecting.

Today, Tagum City has become a celebrity of sort. As of December 2006, 49 cities and municipalities all over the country from as far north as the town of Aguinaldo in Ifugao province and farther south, the town of Bongao in Tawitawi province, had sent Lakbay Aral tour officials to Tagum. Organizations of civil engineers, political science students, and postgraduate students in public administration came here too. All of them came eager to know Mayor Uy's Best Practices, the bible of his governance, and the successful operation of the city's economic enterprise. But most importantly, they came here to see in person the mayor known for his strong political will. This website outlines most if not all of Mayor Rey T. Uy's achievements and best performances in terms of governance and public service.

History

An early civilization of Aetas and Kalagans from the southern part of Mindanao settled in an area abundant with upland and lowland resources, promising a bright future for its residents. As early as then, the place was known as a Taboan, a major trading place in the South; thus, giving birth to a town named Panabo.

From a mere barangay of Magugpo, which is now known as Tagum City, Panabo flourished into a municipality last July 19, 1949 through Presidential Proclamation No. 236 of the late President Manuel L. Quezon. Fifty two years later, with an overwhelming positive response from the residents, Panabo metamorphosed into a city through Republic Act 9015 last March 31, 2001. Now in its 8th year as a 3rd class component city of Davao del Norte, Panabo is home to 154,329 residents spread out in 40 barangays.

An infant city in the south, Panabo, comprising of a land area of 25,123 hectares, is situated between two larger cities, the beautiful Tagum and the booming Davao. It is located 25 minutes away from Davao International Airport and will soon boast a public sea port. Indeed, Panabo is well on its way to meeting its destiny as the "Agri-Industrial Gateway to the World".

Banana Industry

Purported to be the banana capital of Davao del Norte, Panabo cultivated 40% of its land or around 10,000 hectares into planting export-quality bananas, which is better known as Cavendish Bananas.

In fact, Panabo is the home of the world's biggest banana plantation, which is owned by the Tagum Agricultural Development Company. TADECO covers around 6,900 hectares of banana fields and produce millions of boxes of export-quality bananas annually.

Aside from TADECO, Dole-Stanfilco also builds a name for Panabo City as the first company to have put up a Vapor Heat Treatment (VHT) Facility in the Philippines. In fact, it was Former President Fidel V. Ramos who inaugurated the facility. This facility improves the post-harvest quality of the products of the company for export.

To address their shipping needs, Tadeco and Dole-Stanfilco have put up port facilities, which enable them to directly transport Bananas to countries like Japan, Korea, China, Middle East and even in Europe. Another highlight to Dole-Stanfilco's facilities is the Fruit Wharf, which is one of a few of its kind in the Philippines. Aside from bananas, the wharves also export other agricultural products, such as mango, papaya and pineapple, which are produced not only in Panabo but also in various places in Mindanao, such as Davao and Bukidnon.

As the city's prime product, Banana has not just brought in dollars to the city but it also converges the people towards the city's progress.

Panabo Bangus

Aside from Cavendish bananas, Panabo is also known as the home of the finest bangus in Mindanao.

With only three years in existence, the Panabo Bangus have reached as far as Mati and General Santos City. According to National Director Malcolm Sarmiento of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Panabo Bangus is the tastiest bangus that he has encountered in the Philippines.

This bangus has been bred in more than 400 fish cages spread out in the 1,075-hectare Panabo Mariculture Park. Only Last April of 2009, the Mariculture Park produced a total of 154 metric tons of bangus in one month alone. Since then, it has surprisingly progressed beyond expectations as an investment priority area in the city, attracting not only local investors from Davao to General Santos, but even investors from Taiwan.

It is now the thrust of City Mayor, Atty Jose L. Silvosa, Sr., to establish Panabo City as the Bangus Capital of Mindanao, if not the Philippines.

PBA's Provincial home in the south

Panabo is also the proud owner of the biggest indoor sports complex in the region that can accommodate around 5,000 people in the bleachers alone. Aside from that, the gym features a world class basketball court with wood-tiled flooring and an electronic scoring system.

The Panabo Multi-Purpose Tourism, Cultural and Sports Center, or better known as the Panabo Gym, is the only astrodome in the region that passed the quality standards of the Philippine Basketball Association; making Panabo City as the official provincial home of the PBA in the South.

Since 2008, the city already hosted 4 regular PBA conference games and is proud to have qualified as one of the venues for the 2009 PBA All Star Week, bringing the famous and the brightest basketball stars in the Philippines.

Aside from the PBA Games, the Panabo Gym is also one of the top choices for concert venue of various national artists like Sarah Geronimo, Piolo Pascual and Sheryn Regis.

Experience the advantages, opportunities and conditions uniquely Panabo and journey to the Agri-Industrial Gateway to the World.

www.panabocity.gov.ph